Chapter 1

Go out of Chang'an and Wei to go east, pass Zheng County, Huazhou, and then go forward to Huayin. On this day, Cui Po and his car drove to the east gate of Guanzhong, at the foot of Tongguan, known as "one man guards the pass, but billions of people cannot pass".

He ordered the coachman Lao Guo to stop the carriage. Cui Po helped Jingruo out of the carriage. The two of them slowly walked towards a mound next to them, which could be considered as climbing a high place to look out for the eternal pass.

Perhaps because he had been sitting in the car for too long, Jingruo's calves suddenly softened on the way, Cui Po hurriedly reached out and held them, "Aruo, be careful!" His caring greeting was exchanged for a smile like a flower. The eyes that looked at Cui Po, which was filled with a strong unsolvable affection, which only made a tenderness arise in his heart, and his hand holding her suddenly tightened a little.

After staring at each other for a long time, the two of them looked at each other and continued to walk forward.

When they arrived on the mound, a pavilion-like ancient pine covered a huge piece of green shade, with green grass as soft as felt underneath. The two of them sat on the ground holding hands and looking at the dark city wall in the distance casually.

"Tongguan was named Taolinsai in ancient times. Later, because it was located above the Tonghe River, it was renamed Tongguan." Jingruo's clear oriole sounded in Cui Po's ears. When he saw his surprised gaze, Jingruo frowned and smiled proudly. He continued: "Far away in the Spring and Autumn Period, during the Warring States Period, the place south of Tonghe River and west of Yaoshan was collectively called "Hangu", which was the most fierce place to conquer and kill. At first, Hangu was owned by Jin State, so he could use this to control Qin. When the powerful Qin occupied this place, the demise of the six countries began here."

"Oh! I didn't expect that Aruo was still such a talented woman." Cui Po teased her and said, "Since that's the case, others say that the world is dangerous in 'Tongguan', and talented women can have a way to break the pass."

Hearing Cui Po’s words, Jing Ruo snorted, “In history, there have been dozens of large-scale wars in this place of war. Each time, due to the difficulty of frontal attacks, most of them adopted the method of striking east and west, condemning the army to attack Tongguan openly, and secretly a side army, smuggling from Puzhou to Pujin from Hedong Road, or from Nanyang to attack Wuguan from the west, so as to bypass Tongguan and penetrate the heart of the capital. In this way, this pass will not be broken and broken." After talking, Jing Ruo looked at Cui Po with a proud look on his face, and said clearly, “How is it, I’m amazing!”

"Woman! Women are really fickle." Seeing Jingruo's appearance as a cute and silly child, Cui Po muttered. When he saw Jingruo dealing with family affairs and meeting foreign guests, he was really dignified, and there was a look in front of him.

"Aruo is really amazing! The young man admires him very much." While saying that, Cui Po stood up and bowed seriously, which made Jingruo laugh again.

After teasing for a while, Cui Po stopped his smile and asked seriously: "Aruo, how do you know so much about Tongguan?"

"My father has been at the Anxi Jiedushi for many years. Grandpa cherishes my sisters and often calls us to be by his side. Over the past ten years, Grandpa has retired from the army. At home, he has sorted out these years of experience in leading the army, as well as the methods of siege and defense that are almost invincible. Mei Ruo is agile. I will do the copying alone. Over time, I will remember more or less." Seeing Cui Po ask seriously, Jing Ruo straightened his body and answered in detail.

"It's rare that you have this intention, don't be sad! I will be by your side in the future." Cui Po praised him and saw Jingruo's face look dull. He knew that he must have thought of his father who was thousands of miles away, and held her hand and comforted him with warm words.

"Yeah!" Jing Ruo nodded obediently, then his body slanted slightly and snuggled into Cui Po's arms. The two of them were speechless anymore, and they both sank into the tenderness and secret meaning. After a long time, Cui Po saw Jing Ruo's lips moving in his arms, and listened intently, but it was a song that was popular recently:

Young people are at the end of the world, adding more years to their youth, and less years to their youth; nearly dusk, crows have returned, opening a window screen, covering a window screen; the rain is falling, gathering a pile of fallen flowers, scattering a pile of fallen flowers; bored and helpless, singing a pipa, pistol, and plucking a pipa. My body has nowhere to be inserted, calling an enemy, cursing an enemy!

In front of the dark and powerful pass that has been fighting for thousands of years, under the fierce ancient pine trees that have been snuggling for a hundred years, a pair of young men in their prime lean against each other. At this moment, the eternal north wind blew through the hills, it slowed down and became softer, as if it was unwilling to destroy this picture full of vitality and the most beautiful world.

… …………………

The journey north to Jinzhou was exactly the old way Cui Po took when he went to Beijing to take the exam. The only difference was that when he entered the inn again, the various treatments were really a world of difference. It was not until this moment that he realized that some large towns had bamboo forests and ponds, but they were just poor scholars and past officials had no right to enjoy them. And he could get such treatment because he was holding a gold sign from the Guo Mansion on his head. These contrasts could not make Cui Po sigh: "Power! Power." When he wanted to say something in the next sentence, he was speechless, and he felt that the warmth and coldness of human feelings were all in these two words.

For Gu Xijingruo, it took only more than a month to see the slightly broken gray and black city walls of Jinzhou City from a distance.

Going closer, Cui Po saw that the Jinzhou city was located on the high ground at Pingshui and the sorghum water convergence. The city was nearly three meters high. The city wall was made of stone bricks wrapped in soil. It was quite solid and thick. However, because it had not been repaired for a long time, it seemed that it was a bit broken and desolate.

Before the carriage and horses arrived at the city gate, I had seen several people wearing official uniforms coming up from afar. Cui Po ordered the carriage and horse to stop, turned over and dismounted, and went to meet the few people.

Cui Po saw that among the several people in the group, one of the leaders was a man wearing a Jinde crown, a deep-scarlet official uniform, and a dark-faced man. Since he was dressed like this, he must be the governor of this state. Behind him were both the officials of this state, either the shallow-scarlet official or the green official uniform.

When there were still a few steps apart, Cui Po stopped and took a visit to Shangguan after a subordinate who visited Shangguan, saying, "The lower official has the eighth rank, and he has just come to take office, but he is so rude that he is out of the city to greet him."

"Mr. Cui is so polite. It was not until the day before yesterday that Master Jie Shuai sent a document to our residence. We learned that the court actually sent the world-famous new top scholar Duke to our residence to serve. This is unprecedented since the founding of the country. Once this news came out, it was really a celebration for the Hefu. The court loved this state so much, and we should really bow to the palace to thank Your Majesty for his kindness." Governor Wei said after returning a courtesy.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, the other officials also came forward to greet each other according to their ranks. After a long time of liveliness, the greetings were just over. Everyone entered the city under the guidance of the governor.
Chapter completed!